A week of real food...

After suffering through three weeks of microwave dinners, I switched back to cooking real dinners and bringing homemade sandwiches to work for lunch. (See menu here.)

First of all, having a menu and the necessary ingredients on hand made enacting my dinner plans easy. I didn't have to think about what to make. Second, I started making dinner right when I got home from work. This way, I was able to satisfy my typical 6pm hunger and if anyone wanted to eat later, they were free to reheat any leftovers. We're all adults in the house, we can fend for ourselves! I needed to give up my "Mother Hen" point of view and re-evaluate my need to have "dinnertime" be a regularly-scheduled group activity. I have, and it feels great!

Third, I wanted to be flexible in what day I ate the meals on the list. I've found that if I make a list of menus that are not date-specific, I fare better than if I commit to having fish on Monday and chicken on Tuesday, for example, because I never know what I'll feel like eating that evening. I shopped for all the ingredients on my weekly list on Sunday and was ready to go Monday-Friday. The one day I did commit to was Wednesday when I made whole wheat noodle lasagna for everyone who came to our Project Runway finale party. Every inch was gone by the end of the show!

Lastly, I incorporated fresh meats and vegetables into the dishes. Not only did they taste much better than any microwavable food, but my hunger was satisfied longer. I managed to make everything on my list, save for the shrimp gumbo. Fortunately, that will be on this week's menu list, as the shrimp are safely stowed away in the freezer and can be thawed pretty quickly.

Kashi makes pizza?

Yep, they do. In three varieties, to be exact. I tried the Roasted Garlic Chicken pizza last night. It's a smaller-sized pizza that will run you about $5.00 or so. It has a whole-wheat crust and a fair amount of toppings and an even serving of shredded cheese. I put it in the oven, directly on the rack and waited to be amazed.

I have to say, I wasn't. While Kashi has done a good job with the flavor combination and offering a wheat crust, the pizza was just kind of "ehh." It was on the dry side and had barely any sauce. I don't think I'll bother with the other varieties next time I buy a frozen pizza.

For an alternative, may I recommend the Digiorno Thin Crust pizza? It bakes wonderfully and is very yummy. I like to get the 4-cheese kind and top it with my own organic mushrooms, peppers, and pork sausage. Delicious! Oh, and apparently they're coming out with two new varieties --- Spinach, Mushroom & Garlic and Pepperoni, Mushroom & Bacon. Both sound quite tempting.

Things I love to eat, but have never prepared

I'll be honest, I like cooking, but i love eating. I'd rather indulge in someone else's gastronomical delights than stand over the stove any day.

However I think it's time I learned how to create my own versions of the following dishes so as to not have to rely on others when I want a taste-treat.

Here are 10 dishes I like to eat but don't know how to make:

1. Homemade Cream of Tomato Soup
2. Pad Thai
3. Chicken Enchiladas with verde sauce
   
4. Bread Pudding
5. Bacon-wrapped anything. (How do you get the bacon to stay on?)
6. Ice Cream
7. Baklava
8. Hummus (not from a box!)
9. Naan
10. Calimari (do I really want to know?)
    

Food diary

I started keeping a food diary when I joined Weight Watchers. That got me into the habit of writing down everything I eat...well, writing down most of it! I don't write down no-calorie drinks (water, diet soda) and sometimes I won't write down no-calorie foods. But everything else goes into the diary.
Today the diary is being retired. A new diary will be started tomorrow (although I have a bad habit of not writing down weekend foods, which is probably why I'm overweight!, among other things *notmoving*) and I'm happy about that. But sad about the old diary's retirement and recycling. I looked through all the entries and it brought back happy times and then disturbing trends.
Por ejemplo:
I binged alot on fast food in Denton. You could say that was because of my dissatisfaction with my job but I think the bigger issue was availability. Now that I live in the sticks, I don't eat much fast food. It just doesn't make sense. And since I don't eat a fast food item, not to mention many fast food items to necessitate a "binge", I am no longer binging on fast food.
If it is there, I will eat it. I saw trends of food. Cookies that would appear in every meal. The same entree when at home. That can be a good thing when you've got the right foods around.
I know I starved myself when on Weight Watchers (I never didn't eat, I just ate a heck of a lot less) and I think that is why I'm averse to soups now. Hopefully that will change*.
So I will start my new food diary....Saturday?? Here's to you, old food diary!!

*According to Grammar Nazis, "hopefully" should not be used. You should use "I'm hopeful" as in "I'm hopeful that that phrase will not be seen as being pretentious.*

Personal aside: I maintain the food diary because I have heard that writing down what you eat reminds you of what you eat so you will eat less. That's assuming you didn't drink four beers which will make you disregard all your note-taking for a round of cheese fries and/or mozzarella sticks. Yum!